Concordia alumnus Frederic Bohbot holds Academy Award for best documentary short | Photo courtesy of Frederic Bohbot
A team of Concordia alumni from Montreal-based Bunbury Films has earned a coveted golden statue for the Oscar-winning documentary short, The Lady in Number 6.
As graduates of Concordia’s Department of Communication Studies, Frederic Bohbot, BA 01, was the film’s executive-producer; Kieran Crilly, BA 03, was cinematographer; while Carl Freed, BA 94 of the Department of Political Science, was editor.
“Only a decade after they finished university they won an Academy Award. This will be a real source of inspiration for students in our department,” says Rae Staseson, chair of Concordia’s Department of Communication Studies.
The film industry’s top honour was accepted at the 86th Academy Award ceremony that took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA, on March 2.
The documentary is about 110-year-old pianist Alice Herz-Sommer — the oldest Holocaust survivor in the world — who passed away a week before the Oscar telecast.
“She taught everyone on my crew to be a little more optimistic and a little bit more happy about all the things in our lives.
"Seeing the film will help you live a much happier life,” said the film’s director Malcolm Clarke from the Oscar podium.
Other Oscar connections
Bohbot, Crilly, and Freed weren’t the only Concordians at Hollywood’s biggest night.
Yves Bélanger, BFA 84, a graduate of Concordia’s Film Production program in the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, was a cinematographer on the movie Dallas Buyers Club. Directed by Montrealer Jean-Marc Vallée, the film was nominated for six awards including best picture. Actors Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto won for best actor and best supporting actor, respectively.
In an interview with La Presse, Bélanger said that he developed an interest in cinematography at Concordia. “My greatest strength was visual impact. As a cinematographer, you’re on the set more often than the director,” Bélanger told the newspaper.